The Residue of the Western Missionary in the Southern Cameroons

The Christian Village: A Sad Tale of Strife and Dissension

Publication Year: 2012

This book is the fascinating study of Christian enclaves in the Southern Cameroons of the colonial era. The Christian enclaves came into being with absolute spontaneity as a modus vivendi. Oblivious of the danger in store both colonial governments and traditional authorities provided the conditions in which these Christian villages took root and flourished. However what had taken root in the territory as a self-protection mechanism, soon unleashed its lethal, enticing tentacles luring both the wives of royals and commoners into their bosom. This disruptive influence of Christian villages threatened the survival of ethnic groups, arousing the rancour of traditional authorities and civil administrators. In many ways the Christian enclaves inhibited the potential of colonial governments to administer the territory. These states within a state propagated by the missionary in the most insidious and perfidious of all manners sowed within their own bosom the seed of self-destruction. The whole issue of runaway wives of royals and commoners alike who took refuge in the Christian villages troubled both the colonial and traditional authorities. By offering a safe haven to these runaway wives and welcoming women who were outside the traditional male authority in a tribal setup, the missionaries began sowing within the Christian communities the seeds of their own self destruction. Records of wives of Fons and commoners escaping into these enclaves, eloping with a man and returning pregnant remained the regular subject of several colonial intelligence reports. Highhanded methods by missionaries in these villages brought both the missionaries and their work into disrepute. In less than a quarter of a century these enclaves had lost the war of attrition waged by colonial and traditional authorities. Worn out by endless strife and dissension within and without and forced by contingency, what had been conceived to be ideal Christian communities with snowballing effects, saw its premature demise.

Published by: African Books Collective

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In 1916, following the defeat of the Germans, the Anglo-French ad hoc administration expelled the German Pallotine and Sacred Heart missionaries from Cameroon. The future and fate of the former German Pallotine and Sacred Heart missions...

Chapter One: Introduction

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pp. 1-100

Over the centuries, missionaries have made frantic efforts in Africa to plant the cross and bring its inhabitants under the yoke of Christ. However, due to a lack of consistent reinforcement over time, these sporadic attempts left behind negligible results...

Chapter Two: Shisong Christian Village

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pp. 101-216

“Eastward from Kumbo wends a road; it crosses the river, Row-Kumbo, runs up the ridge of Tiy-Menkan, skirting Tahyav peak that looms on the left. The visitor after trekking on this road, for forty minutes or so, over bank and bourn; comes...

Chapter Three: The Christian Village of Njinikom

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pp. 217-312

The village of Njinikom is one of many settlements in the Kom kingdom in the Bamenda Grassfields of the present-day North West Region in Cameroon. In the Bamenda Grass Fields, the Kom kingdom occupies an area of about...

Chapter Four: The Baseng Christian Village

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pp. 313-379

The Bakossi people occupy an area of more than 3,000 square kilometres on the slopes of the Bakossi Mountains, Mount. Kupe, Mount Mwanenguba and Mount Nlonako, in the Republic of Cameroon. Traditionally farmers, hunters and anglers...

Appendix

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pp. 381-395

Select Bibliography

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pp. 397-409

Back Cover

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E-ISBN-13: 9789956728688
Print-ISBN-13: 9789956727940

Page Count: 424
Publication Year: 2012